


Spider's Web

by Tial



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, spider!Rhys
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-09
Updated: 2016-10-09
Packaged: 2018-08-20 09:33:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8244512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tial/pseuds/Tial
Summary: Jack goes to Pandora to investigate a creature messing with the construction of a new eridium mine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Really inspired by this gorgeous piece of artwork by the amazing Qvoro seen here: http://qvoro.tumblr.com/post/146042107959/drider-rhys-for-hyperioncompanyman-and
> 
> I'm kind of shy about this but I was inspired and got really excited about spider!Rhys so I just decided to roll with it. Unbetaed

Handsome Jack was pissed off; the whole job should’ve been an easy operation, a new eridium mine on Pandora but problem after problem had caused work to slow to a snail’s pace until this latest issue led to a complete halt. The workers claimed there was a monster terrorising the mission; a giant spider that was weaving webs that were as strong as steel over various pieces of the machinery, stealing supplies and even eating workers. Worst of all, it was apparently damn good at hiding because it was never actually seen in the act, the remnants of its activity being the only clue that it was even there in the first place. At first, Jack thought the workers were making up bullshit to get a break or something. However, after he found that airlocking the team that had delivered the message to him didn’t stop the reports, Jack got to thinking that maybe they weren’t lying to him. And it must be a bloody big problem if they were more scared of the monster than they were of Jack.

So, here he was, on the shithole of a planet that was Pandora. Wading through swampy wasteland in search of a friggin’ spider that he was starting to think didn’t even exist. And he didn’t even have any company. Some of the workers volunteered to accompany him but after about 2km he got sick of how friggin’ loud they breathed and told them to piss off lest he shoots them in the face to make them shut up. He couldn’t call Nisha either, yes she was around but she would just laugh in his face if he asked. So now he was alone ‘cept for the dumpy little robot that followed his every step, waiting for orders. But it didn’t count.

He found that he couldn’t even enjoy the nature around him as that too was crap. The swamp was a dark, ugly green, the flowers looked like they would kill you if you stood still a second too long and the bubbling, gassy water smelled like shit. Also he had to endure the faint buzzing of the robot hovering beside him, the sound greatly magnified by his surroundings. Friggin’ Pandora. He just wanted to get out of there as fast as he could but he hadn’t seen any sign whatsoever of the spider after the trail ended. He wasn’t about to give up though. As shitty as this place was, he was Handsome Goddamn Jack and there was no way that he was about to just give up. So, he kept walking.

It was about an hour until he noticed a change in his surroundings, instead of the normal forest setting that he’d grown used to, he saw a small rock cave that’s inside was absolutely covered in spider webs. Bingo. Readying his favourite gun (which never seems to get enough use on Helios due to the presence of airlocks), Jack made his way slowly towards the cave, cautiously making sure to keep his eye out for the spider. That worked for the first couple of metres until he walked through a canopy of trees and found himself stuck… in a web.

He was so busy watching the cave that he had blundered into the whisper-thin closely woven threads that were incredibly sticky, covering Jack and making it impossible to move. Shit. On closer examination of one of the more obvious threads, he noticed that the reason they were so thick was because they were like the thinner threads that he was trapped in but they were connected over and over again. It was all a trap. He felt like cursing out the world but found he couldn’t speak; he had walked in face first so his jaw was stuck. He couldn’t even call for the stupid drone to do something other than just watch his struggling. With his arms and legs also unmoveable, there was nothing he could do except wait and see when the spider would appear. Oh god, he hates Pandora.

\----

He almost fell asleep in his boredom. He tried, wanting to do something productive with his time but couldn’t catch a wink in his awkward, uncomfortable situation. He resolved to just make a list of the people who would need to die for this, furious about the situation he was in. He was just onto the 59th name when he felt the web move slightly. Tensing, he realised the creature must have just climbed onto the back of the web so Jack couldn’t see it.

“Ooo, looks like I get a nice treat tonight.”

Jack should be horrified by the comment but felt stunned more than anything. The thing was speaking to him in English with a masculine human voice. The monster was **speaking** to him. He strained to move, wanting to see with whom and what he was speaking. It must have looked like he was trying to make an escape attempt as he heard a soft chuckle behind him.

“Aw, trying to get away already? I’m hurt, we’re going to have soo much fun together after all… well, I’ll have fun”

Jack felt the web jump again as the creature flipped onto the other side. The human was confronted by 8 eyes staring intently at him, one with a strange yellow ring in the middle while the rest were obsidian black. A massive grin stretched the spider’s strangely humanoid face.

“My name is Rhys, it’s a pleasure to meet you!”

Jack was really confused. He found the creature had many spider characteristics; not just the eyes but his legs and back which fused into a form that was more similar to an arachnid. However, his grin was undoubtedly human (with the exception of his very sharp looking teeth), as was his chest and his one arm (there was simply a stump where the other arm should have been) which were a thin but soft masculine shape. He was almost kind of cute if you could ignore the weird, creepy bits of him and his unusual deep purple skin tone. This was definitely not just a giant spider.

“Oh, I guess you can’t talk right now. All well” Rhys didn’t sound surprised or disappointed at all. “Hmm, you don’t look like the others who’ve been ‘round here lately”. The creature stopped to survey Jack’s whole body, moving up and down the web as he did, seemingly mocking Jack’s inability to move.

“You’re not wearing a uniform… Oh! You must be their leader!”

If possible, Rhys grinned even larger.

“I was hoping to talk to you, I wanted you to know that they were very rude to me and said some awful things! I would demand that you punish them, but I already have and I think they’ve learned their lesson… wherever they are. You, on the other hand, have been very good. I’m incredibly proud of you for being soo quiet and polite. Because of that, I don’t have to punish you!”

The human stayed quiet, not wanting to aggravate the other, simply waiting for his chance to strike. After all, he could always get back at the monster once he was free.

“So, here’s how this is going to go down; because you’ve been a good boy, I’m going to inject you with my venom which will paralyse you, making this easier and also making you numb so you won’t have to feel me eating you. Isn’t that nice? The others didn’t get that, they had to learn their lesson so I was forced to just eat them while they were still able to feel it. A shame, really. Their screams made it very hard to enjoy my meal.”

Rhys seemed to stop for a moment to think, tilting his head as he stared at Jack’s eyes.

“I like you. I know they say you aren’t supposed to play with your food but your eyes are very pretty because of that I’m going to let you speak for a little bit to have some last words. I’m kind like that and I know you won’t let me down.” Then his eyes turned harsh for a second as he added “you better not let me down” before his face returned to his delighted expression.

Jack was relieved to feel the web start to fall from his mouth as Rhys worked on removing the small section. The human waited until the creature had leaned back with a curious expression before he whistled loudly, causing the stupid little drone that had followed him to whirl into life. Before Rhys could move, it shot a paralysing dart directly into his abdomen. Furious, Rhys bared his fangs at Jack readying to try and take Jack down with him but was motionless before he could, the drug working effectively to stop him. And thus, he stayed there, a scathing look on his face as Jack called for the robot to use its laser to cut him free. It was difficult, but he was eventually out. Afterwards, he arrived back at the camp, carrying the spider’s body to the relief of his workers. The ones that weren’t on his to-kill list anyway. And, all the while looking at Rhys’ frozen body, the CEO called Meg to let her know that he had a little ‘gift’ for R&D. He couldn’t wait to have some revenge on this thing.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :D
> 
> Also I'm not sure if I'll update this... But I'm excited about it atm so I'll see :)


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